Pop: Manu could miss a week

Injured Spurs guard Manu Ginobili underwent a battery of tests this afternoon that confirmed the original diagnosis of a strained left groin. He is expected to be out about a week, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Ginobili left Wednesday night’s loss in Dallas after just 7 1/2 minutes and did not return. He had also been dealing with a tight hamstring that had caused him to miss the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Popovich said he was surprised Ginobili was already battling nagging injuries, especially since the guard rested the entire summer while recuperating from a stress fracture in his right ankle.

“I’d be disingenuous if I said I wasn’t disappointed that he’s been hurt in different ways since he did rest this summer,” Popovich said before tonight’s game against Utah. “I’m surprised by it. I didn’t expect it. But we still have to deal with it.”

The Spurs will be without a double dose of All-Star guards tonight. Tony Parker, nursing a sprained left ankle, will join Ginobili on the inactive list.

Popovich’s plan for dealing with the loss of the pair remains the same.

“We just do what we do,” Popovich said. “Same plays, nothing changes. Just different people doing it.”